A Peek Into History
by Ze Zorege
Summary: What is the history behind the lonesome Fushimi Saruhiko? Why didn't his parents acknowledge him? Why did they even decide to have a child? Shall we take a peek? Characters: Niki, Kisa, Saruhiko, Yata (later chapters)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the K-Project franchise and am not affiliated with it. This is only a fanfiction and the events described here are only how I imagined them to be. I only own the name 'Sadao' and Kisa's non-canon sister, Saki.**

* * *

They met during their college days - specifically, during Fushimi Niki's final year. He was 21 while Kisa Sadao was just 19. They thought of each other as just another student on the campus - did not even know each other's names. It was like those times when you see a random person and then recognize the face whenever you see him/her.

Niki and Kisa were officially introduced to each other on the night of a wild party after which they hooked up. There was no meaning behind their one-night stand. Both of them were drunk and in need of company. But that night a child was conceived.

* * *

Kisa was born to an influential family. They ran a huge enterprise. Between she and her sister, she was more interested in business. So obviously she was the heir to their family trade.

When Kisa started getting sick often, her parents were worried - worried that their legacy would not be carried on, as her younger sister was clearly incompetent to take on the job. Their worry did not stem from concern for their daughter's health but for the future of their company. Was that the place from where Kisa got her attitude?

One of her friends who knew about her one-night stand suggested that she take a pregnancy test. It seemed reasonable so she took one. Not believing the result, she took it two, three, four, five times.

They all turned out positive.

* * *

Niki was very amused when Kisa told him about it.

"Well, it was not by intention," he said casually, "I think your family is rich enough to afford an abortion. Why don't you try that?"

To this, she replied, "The family occupies a respectable status in the society and we intend to keep it that way. Our rivals are continuously looking for opportunities to sabotage the public's image of us. So we have decided to keep the child."

"You are willing to go through all these just to make sure the society does not see the family as a bunch of fetus murderers?"

"I guess you could say that," she admitted.

"Boy, your family is shit-ass crazy!"

By now, Niki was completely amused. He could care less why this woman was rambling about her family and their decisions but he found the subject vastly interesting. However, it was time for class. Though he has a bad boy appearance, he does enjoy his lessons.

"Got to go now. Good luck explaining to you 'precious' society who the father is. Surely you have thought of that, right?"

He turned and walked away.

"You will be introduced to the public as the father of the child and my husband," she said monotonously.

He stopped walking mid-way. He was shocked but his stunned face soon morphed into a twisted smirk. Calculus can wait. This was way more interesting.

"So you are what? Asking me to marry you?! Oh! No, of course not. You have a delightful psychology and all but that isn't enough to convince me to marry you."

"Fushimi Niki," she began seriously, "This is no joke."

"Really? Then what is it? Because it seems to me that the very existence of this whole situation is to provide some humor to this boring place we call our world."

"...You're weird."

"Thanks for the compliment. So, if I agree to our marriage, what do i get? What's my compensation? I expect a fair price for all the troubles I may face if I were to agree to this ridiculous arrangement."

"My parents will talk to you about that. Come by the mansion today in time for dinner. Bring no one with you. Here is the address."

She gave him a card and walked away.

Staring at the card, he just mumbled, "What a woman!"

* * *

Dinner was really quiet. He had been received at the door by Kisa's younger sister, Saki. After that, he had been led to their dining hall where the entire family was. Being the kind of person who did not pay any importance to social conduct, he just sat down.

"So why did you want to see me?" He asked the person who he assumed to be the father.

"This is a delicate matter and will be discussed after dinner," interrupted Kisa.

 _Snobby bitch..._

The food were brought out and the party began eating. No words exchanged between any of the members at the table. Not even a few words were spoken.

However, there was a slight altercation between Saki and her mother which Niki found to be of great entertainment. Every few minutes, Saki would look up at him, furiously blush and then look back down. She stopped this after her mother gave her a threatening glare.

Niki just smirked and gave her a flirtatious wink. Her face heated up and she was unable to look at him for the rest of the evening.

At this, Kisa just raised her eyebrow at him.

"What?" he whispered, "I am not your husband yet. Jealous?"

"Of course not."

"Even if we were to marry, I'd still go out with other women because circumstances compelled me to do this."

"Do you mean that you're gonna accept the proposal - that you're gonna marry me?"

Saki's ears pricked up at this. Tears welled up in her eyes. This shouldn't be happening. She had just met the guy. But her sister got the best of everything. It was not fair. She did not deserve the guy. He must have probably been drunk when they had sex. Yes, that must be it and it seemed like he didn't even like Kisa as there didn't seem to be any chemistry between them. Maybe she can broadcast the baby as her own. Kisa said she didn't want it. Then maybe she could marry Niki and -

Her musings had been cut off by a sharp pain in her arm. Her mother had pinched her.

"Stop looking down. You look like you are about to faint at any moment. And wipe those tears. Never show such embarrassing attitude in front of guests."

Niki who had been observing the situation with full interest, decided to answer Kisa's question.

"I may. I've thought of a price that is reasonable but it will be of great help to me. There are some conditions though. After all these terms, I shall make my decision."

At a loud 'Ahem' from the father, everybody stopped their conversations and resumed their meal in silence.

After dinner, the father told him to follow him to his office.

"Sit, boy."

 _How rude_ _!_

"Now, name your price."

 _Straight to the point, aren't we?_ "Money. Enough money to last me a lifetime."

"Money, huh? How predictable. Anything else?"

"Your daughter will be the one to do all the earning. I will simply enjoy the fruits of her labor. I may be intelligent, yes, but I have always wanted to enjoy life - sort of, you know, just cruise through it. Know what I mean?"

"I am pretty sure I've got a good grasp of the situation."

"Also I want to make sure that she does not cut off her money from me. So I'll be the one to handle all of her bank accounts. Moreover, all her assets should be under my name. Understood?"

The father slowly nodded. _This kid is a genius... Will Kisa be able to outsmart him? I don't think so. He should have been my son. Then the future of my company is safe - assured._

"Good. One question, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all. Go on." _I'm beginning to like this kid. He has all the makings to be a perfect businessman._

"Am I allowed to cheat?"

This question completely shocked him. He did not like the kid anymore. In fact, he did not like any person who does not give a rat's ass about his reputation. He simply answered, "No."

"Yeah, well, I guess that was predictable. I have decided to marry your daughter."

Dinner had started slowly but it ended in a triumph, at least for Niki.

* * *

The marriage ceremony was surprisingly large. Lots of reporters, rich business tycoons and political leaders were present.

Niki didn't expect it to be this big.

* * *

Despite his father-in-law's disagreement, he still cheated on Kisa. But all affairs were covered up by wads of cash.

Niki was having the time of his life.

* * *

Kisa was soon put to bed-rest. During the night of November 7th, she delivered a baby boy.

Having always been rather proud of his looks, Niki was taken aback to see that the new-born looked like him in every aspect. To cope with this 'disappointment,' he simply decided that his son did not look like him at all but looked more like a monkey.

He named him Fushimi _Saru_ hiko.


	2. Chapter 2

"So the name's Fushimi Saruhiko," said Himada Sadao, the CEO of the Kanto Mining Complex and stockholder of many reputable companies. "I suppose you'll want us there."

"Hey!" replied his son-in-law, "Please don't forget who you're talking to. I don't like you any more than you like me. No, it's Kisa who wants her darling parents beside her. Soppy, right? It's not like she is on her deathbed. Anyways, see ya!"

Himada just shook his head. _Can't he ever talk without his voice dripping with sarcasm?_

He flicked his PDA off and dialled another number.

After a few rings, it was answered by Yumio Sadao, vice-president of the Golden Travels Agency.

"What do you want? I'm in the midst of a presentation. Do you think all I do here is surf the net, drink coffee and gossip, huh?! I don't need you all bothering me. I have enough trouble at work as it is, with my colleagues and subordinates. I -"

"Kisa has given birth to a boy. You are to go to the hospital. I have a meeting. It won't be long - 20 minutes. I will arrive there shortly."

"But I have just told you. I have to review some presentations. Just bail your meeting. Moreover, they called you instead of me, so you should be the one to go."

"I can't 'just' bail it. I'm meeting potential clients. What about you? You're just reviewing the skills of some newbies, aren't you? You can just postpone it and order them to get the hell out of your office. I can almost imagine their scared little faces."

Yumio sighed. "Okay, okay. I understand," she began slowly, "You're busy, I'm busy. How about I tell Saki to visit her sister until our arrival, hmm? Solves all problems, doesn't it?"

"Fine then." Saying so, he hung up.

* * *

Saki was in the cafeteria with her friends when she received a message. _From mother? That's rare. I wonder what she wants._

She opened it.

 _The child is born. It's a boy. Stay with Kisa until we arrive._

Saki immediately burst into tears. Excusing herself, she ran into the bathroom. Poor girl!

She splashed cold water into her eyes, wishing with all her might that what she had just read was not true. But her sister had been pregnant for months. Of course, it was true!

The tears finally stopped. She looked up at her reflection. Her eyes were red and puffy, mascara dripping and her lipstick was out of place. She carefully wiped off her make-up and started redoing it. Never would she let Niki see her like this. Pathetic! She had fallen helplessly for the wrong guy.

* * *

When Fushimi Saruhiko was little, he was taken care of by Eugena, a maid in her 20's. She fed him, bathed him, played with him, sang him songs and narrated him stories. She did the best she could to give Saruhiko a childhood as joyful as possible in that big desolate mansion.

Saruhiko called her 'Ji-Ji' while she reciprocated by calling him lovingly 'Saru-kun.'

Unfortunately, she was sacked by the woman with the wavy hair. That mean lady who always wore an expressionless mask and walked around the mansion, clacking in her high heels. That mean lady who always barked orders at the helpless maids. That mean lady who scolded them so severely that the maids had tears in their eyes every time they exited her office. That mean lady who always looked at him with icy coldness.

Saruhiko didn't know that she, whom he and Ji-Ji called 'Mrs. Witch,' was his own mother.

That must be the reason why she fired her. 'Mrs. Witch' was not a nice name. Being young, Ji-Ji frequently quarreled with the other maids. So someone must have told on her. At least, that's what the little genius thought.

Saruhiko didn't know that it was because Eugena had slept with Niki.

Niki had sent a video of them doing it to Kisa with the words 'Jealous, baby?' Although Kisa didn't like to admit it, she was jealous. Living under the same roof with him for just a few months made her realise that her husband was a thing of beauty and it hurts to know that he would never be interested in her. But that reason doesn't justify her behaviour towards her son.

There were lots of things that Fushimi Saruhiko didn't know about. But the most important of them was that Niki was his father. In fact, he had never seen him till he had attained the age of four.

Therefore, Saruhiko would be confused when the mean lady would be on the phone talking to someone she frequently addressed as Niki, begging him to come home. But after Ji-Ji was fired, she stopped calling the person. Saruhiko was very confused.

* * *

On his fourth birthday, a man came to the mansion - a man with handsome features. But he was not wearing one of those awful black suits. So Saruhiko concluded that he was not one of the mean lady's friends.

He was alone that day but, then again he had always been left alone. Hence, at the tender age of four, Saruhiko possessed considerable courage when it came to dealing with strangers. So instead of running away to seek an adult, he crept out of his room, his left hand clutching a teddy bear, he softly asked him, "Who are you?"

The stranger was removing his shoes. When he heard him, he slowly lifted up his face and smirked. "Hello, pleasure to meet you, Saruhiko. I'm Niki."

Recognizing the name, Saruhiko quickly said, "The lady is not here. I heard her talking on the phone about going to a conference."

"Hmm," Niki said, "Who are you talking about? Going to a conference? Oh! I get it! You mean Kisa. Didn't she tell you? I'm your father."

Saruhiko's mouth gaped open. He didn't think he had a father ... or a mother, for that matter. Ji-Ji was the only one who ever came close to a mother-figure but she was gone. He had always thought that he had been adopted by a wealthy family who never came home or that his parents had died leaving him in full charge of the entire property.

Seeing the child's expression, Niki chuckled. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that I was your father? I'm sure she has pictures of me somewhere."

"M-My mother?"

He frowned and said, "Yes, your mother. You know, the woman that lives here with you." How was it possible that a dumb-head like this could be his child? He was a frigging genius and as for Kisa, well, she may not be as intelligent as him but her IQ level was way above the average. _The world must be playing some horrible practical joke on me._

Saruhiko couldn't believe it. The nasty, mean lady was his mother? The man must be lying. "She is not."

"Of course, she is. Who did you think she was?"

He quietly processed the information. He had a father, whom he had just met and also a mother, the woman which he had despised his entire childhood. Finally, when his voice returned, he asked, "Why did you marry such a mean lady?"

At his question, Niki chuckled again. "Oh, maybe you're not that different from me at all. To be honest, I don't really know."


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning - This chapter contains minor spoilers of K: Lost Small World.**

Saruhiko liked Niki ... or rather his lack of presence. Either way that woman (he stubbornly accept her as his mother not unlike Kisa who also did not see him as anything other than Niki's son) would never come home unless she was completely sure that Niki was elsewhere.

Kisa had started adopting this method after almost all her days at the mansion had been ruined by Niki. It seemed she had gotten it into her mind that he whiled away all of his free time there; meaning 'Niki was always home.' All that the guy ever did was make her life a living hell. Therefore, she preferred to stay at hotels and such like rather than stay under the same roof as him for more than a few minutes. She did not realize that she herself was also making life just as hellish for Niki.

Truth be told, Niki was rarely at the mansion. He spent most of his time outside goofing around and flirting, together with a bunch of his friends, and returned home only about once a week. Fortunately ... or unfortunately, most of the days he decided not to go somewhere would fall on the very same day of Kisa's rare holidays.

Either way, it was a win-win for Saruhiko. If he was home, Niki would hardly bother him and leave him alone. If he wasn't home, then all the better.

* * *

Then all hell broke loose when, one fine day, Saruhiko saw Niki playing with a Rubik's cube.

Being young and easily impressed, he was fascinated when with a few turns here and there, Niki solved it as easily as if he were breathing.

Seeing his eyes sparkle with wonder, Niki chuckled and gave him the solved cube.

Saruhiko spent hours trying to solve another one. _It seemed impossible_.

Every time he thought he was getting somewhere, there would be differently colored tiny squares in each and every impossible-to-solve places. Half an hour later, the colors began merging together, mocking his supposedly inferior caliber.

After one more hour of fruitless twisting and turning, Saruhiko went away to find Niki cube in hand.

Eyes glistening with teardrops, he handed him the Rubik's cube. Smirking, Niki took it and then began solving it. Saruhiko watched, holding his breath as the final twist came round.

Niki had a brainwave. He suddenly grasped the cube with way more force then required.

 _The toy broke and the little cubes rained down on his son._ Saruhiko burst into tears and ran away.

A twisted smirk adorned Niki's countenance as he watched the broken-hearted child.

Cruelty knows no bounds.

* * *

After this incident, Niki began teasing Saruhiko harshly never relenting until he ran away crying. Whenever this happened, he would comfort his son hugging him and whispering that he was sorry and if he would forgive him.

Never having been subjected to this kind of 'affection' in a long time, Saruhiko with the nature of a child, would nod his head innocently forgiving him and then hug his father back.

A few days later, the soft treatment stopped completely and the so-called teasing became harsher.

Even sleep could not save him from his agonising reality. Niki tormented him in his dreams, turning each and every one of them into nightmares.

Saruhiko would wake up with tears in his eyes, throat sore from screaming. He would then be relieved to find that it was only a dream before suddenly remembering that it could become a reality. Sobbing into his pillow, he would cry himself to sleep.

The 'pranks' became unbearable when Niki destroyed his elementary individual project for which he had worked so hard for.

The ant farm which he had carefully designed was engulfed in flames. All the time he had invested in this project wasted. He could still hear the teacher's words, reverberating repeatedly in his head over and over again, ' _Saruhiko-kun, how come you couldn't bring your independent research project with you?_ '

Niki would also scare his friends away. ' _What's the deal with your dad?_ '  
Thus, when he was just an elementary student, Saruhiko became a loner.

Niki became his living nightmare. His own father became the personification of his worst fears.

* * *

Saruhiko fluttered his eyes open. _Just another day._

Months of abrasive jibes and 'pranks' had taught him that things such as feelings and sentiment hardly had any significance and that crying over them didn't change anything. He learnt that emotions amounted next to nothing. He also learnt that being emotionally attached to temporary things only brought about sadness.

He got up, brushed his teeth, had his breakfast albeit leaving all the vegetables uneaten, took his bag and went to school.

Today he would start his final year of middle school. One more year and this crap of a building they call school would fade away from memory leaving only vague images.

Although the idea of high school didn't appeal that much to him he would still study somewhere far away. School at least gave him an excuse to not be at _that place_. It also earned him a certificate that would ensure he got a job though he was sure that he was smarter than at least a half of the working population.

Who needs a damn paper stating that you've passed out of here or there? Well, apparently, everyone who applied for a job needed one.

 _Those can be easily forged._

* * *

Walking into that hellish, crowded place which was termed as the 'classroom,' Saruhiko sat down on his assigned seat.

All his classmates talked loudly around him, catching up on the latest gossip and trends which they had missed during their vacations.

 _So noisy! These idiots can't open their mouths without spouting some dumb nonsense._ He took out his iPod and cranked it up to its highest volume and then tried to concentrate on the book before him.

"YATA TEAM, ASSEMBLE!"

A loud booming voice penetrated through his earpiece. Saruhiko idly looked up to see which idiot was making the din.

A chestnut haired boy was exclaiming loudly with a stupid grin on his face. The interesting thing, Saruhiko noted, was that the other three students he was talking to seemed edgy and tense. They looked like they were about to burst at any instant.

The chestnut haired one continued excitedly gesturing with his hands. When he had finished whatever gibberish he was saying, he laughed out loud as if he had said a grand joke. The others just laughed nervously, secretly exchanging meaningful glances with each other. Oblivious of their exchanges as well as encouraged by their laughs, he continued again.

 _All hope is lost for an idiot like him._

The bell rang to signify the starting of classes. Saruhiko noted amusedly that their home room teacher was the one he had insulted the year before. _How the hell is the school recruiting teachers nowadays? He can't even multiply two three-digit numbers mentally._

"Alright class," the teacher ordered, "Please return to your assigned seats! And try to remain quiet."

Seeing Saruhiko in his class, the teacher smiled to himself. _Oh, so that brat is in my class. I will surely show him that I'm someone he does not want to mess with._

The student returned his slight smile with an air of boredom. _He cannot seriously be thinking of getting back at me. Well, I have long since predicted this outcome. How childish!_

* * *

Saruhiko returned home completely tired. To his pleasant surprise, he found that both Niki and Kisa were not home.

He headed straight to his room. Lying down on his bed, he began tapping away on his PDA.

Silently, he congratulated himself on the completion of another successful day.

 _One less day until the day I would graduate and could get the hell out of this place for good. I'm smart enough to know that running away does little to no good at all._


	4. Chapter 4

It was the same routine everyday - get up, brush, eat breakfast only if he likes it, go to school, return home, work on his mailing app, eat and sleep. He would occasionally annoy his homeroom teacher but that got boring after the second time. Usually he ended up having to meet the principal. But no one needs to know that he had never even gone there.  
 _Anyways, the prize for having the dullest life goes to me. Congrats...I guess?_

So, today, Fushimi Saruhiko was going to spice up his life - he was not going to school. Granted, some people may find it stupid; some even ridiculous. But for him, it was a solace - a place designed to break the tedious streak that was his so-called 'life.'

He just wanted to see whether he would get scolded. Would Niki shake his head disapprovingly and chastise him? Would Niki's wife be upset and call him just to reprimand him of his actions? Would they become more careful so as to make him not repeat his actions?

Would something in his life change?

* * *

 _This is stupid,_ he thought skeptically. How could he have thought of such a half-witted idea?

He was home and anything that could be remotely called fun had not happened.

He had spent the entire morning in his room. When he had finally gone downstairs for breakfast, there was no one there. What was he expecting?  
Niki sitting on the couch playing video games? Or perhaps, his wife at her desk talking on her PDA while scribbling something onto a piece of paper? Or more likely, someone, possibly a maid, looking up at him in surprise and telling him that it was bad to skip school and that she would inform about this to his parents?

Yet none of them had happened. As always, the mansion was eerily quiet except for a low humming sound coming from the library; _just a maid and her vacuum cleaner_. After she had finished, she would head home for lunch and return again in the evening. All the other maids also followed the same routine but the maids were scarce today. Usually they would hang out and gossip as if they owned the place. It seemed that most of them were busy scrubbing the chamber clean where Niki's wife had a party just the day before.

Saruhiko had not stayed the previous night at the mansion. The look on Kisa's face said it all - _You are not wanted here. Go away._

He could still remember the way the people in the internet café had looked at him while he paid for a night's stay. No doubt they must be feeling pity for him whilst thinking what kind of parents he had. _The worst kind_ , he thought smirking to himself.

Anyways it was no use contemplating to himself about the epic failure of his idea. He better make good use of his time here and so, taking a soda from the refrigerator, he went back to his room.

It may or may not be the best way to spend his time but Saruhiko spent most of it laying down on his bed playing games on his laptop while simultaneously working on the mailing app on his PDA.

After a few hours of this, his stomach growled loudly reminding him that he neither had had his breakfast nor his lunch. He didn't know who it was but he can certainly tell that the maid who had made his breakfast that morning was a new one. _No way in hell am I going to eat French onion quiche._

A quick glance at the bedside clock informed him that the time was three o' clock in the afternoon. It was time for the maids to be off-duty. Just his luck. No worries, delivery option in restaurants exists for a reason. He ordered a pulled pork pizza and hung up.

Hardly had he resumed his game when he heard someone downstairs. _Well that was quick._ He was just about to exit his room when he felt something was off...something was terribly wrong.

 _No delivery boy would enter someone's house without knocking, right?_ And the maids should not be back yet. What if one of them had forgotten something? Even if they had, they still had the evening shift; and it wasn't raining and the sun was not too bright, so they would not need it anytime soon. Moreover, the maids did not like it there anymore than he did, and so they avoided unnecessary visits as much as possible.

Maybe it was Niki's wife. _But she was home just yesterday. She never comes here two times in a row._

What if it was Niki himself? _But he only shows up when he had exhausted his money. And if he does come home before being entirely broke, he would usually call to air out his rooms before his arrival._

Saruhiko crept out of his room and quietly peeked to see who it was. All his guesses were proved wrong. It was not a maid, Niki's wife or Niki. It was a huge burly man all dressed in black. He was rummaging through the cupboards, all the while muttering to himself about carelessness and 'hitting the jackpot.'

It was then that he realized the intruder was a thief. He crept back up to his room and, taking his laptop, PDA and some other stuff, hid inside his closet. Though he had already finished typing out the police's number he didn't call it. He wasn't going to do that anytime soon. If the thief stole enough stuff then maybe he won't be left all alone anymore without any protection whatsoever.

He heard the thief go into the study, then the master bedroom and after that the den. Finally he heard the thief leave the floor. Straining his ear, he listened for any indication that he was the only one in the house.

Not a thing could be heard.

After a few minutes, his eyes became droopy; he was exhausted. And although he knew it was dangerous, he drifted off into sleep. _All those late nights must be catching up with me..._

* * *

The delivery boy sped his van across the highway, honking viciously at the stubborn old car in front of him.

"HEY! GET A MOVE ON, MORON! SOME PEOPLE ARE IN A HURRY HERE!"

The one driving the car paid no attention to his insults and drove at a leisurely pace.

"Ugh!"

Finally he reached the given address. He had to look twice to confirm that he was at the right place. The mansion was too huge to believe that someone living in it would eat anything else other than a food with some fancy name. _Whatevs!_

He was about to ring the doorbell when he noticed that the front door was slightly ajar. Opening it slowly, he whispered, "Hello~"

The house was quiet, too quiet. But what shocked him the most was that there was stuff everywhere. Objects were strewn messily on the floor. A few glass cupboards were broken.

Recovering from his initial shock, the boy quickly called the police.

* * *

"There are no signs of forced entry." The police officer said, scribbling onto his notepad every once in a while, "So do you keep the spare house keys hidden somewhere, you know, like below the flower pot or something. Most people do that."

Pacing around, Kisa answered impatiently, "No! But just listen-"

"I see," the officer said writing something again, "Does anyone other than your immediate family have the spare keys? It is likely someone made a fake or somethi-"

"Just listen," Kisa interrupted, "No one other than me and Niki has the keys; although they are not needed. We keep the doors unlocked."

The officer's eyes widened at this, "You keep the doors unlocked! It's like inviting thieves into the house."

Kisa bit her tongue. She had said too much. Laughing nervously, she replied, "Well...it's such a bother, you know, unlocking the doors every night when you return home dead-tired. And, anyways it's a secure neighborhood. We didn't think something like this could happen."

"I see. Where's y-"

"Oi," shouted his partner, "the boy said someone who was inside the house ordered something, roughly half an hour before the theft."

Coming over to his partner, he turned to the delivery boy and asked, "Well?"

"The one who took the call said the voice sounded like a kid."

"A kid?!" Kisa practically screamed, "That can't be! Niki's son is at school!"

* * *

A quick house search revealed Saruhiko's sleeping form. When he woke up, he was in the living room with a blanket tossed over him.

"You finally woke up, huh," a voice next to him said, chuckling lightly.

Saruhiko glanced around the room. A policeman sat next to him. Some distance away from him was Niki, no doubt flirting with the female police officers. And on the far side of the room, Kisa was talking frantically with another officer while trying to have a conversation on her PDA. Finally she hung up and turned to the officer and said something.

The guy walked off and came to where he was and said to his partner, "They just said that they won't leave anything valuable next time. Our job here is done. Let's go."

The cop turned to him and said, "Well, big man, we should get going. Take care of yourself. Bye!"

But Saruhiko didn't hear him. He was too busy focusing on something else. _'Not valuable' I see_ , he thought, smirking slightly to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

"Woah! Sweet," yelled a teenager, waving the bills in his hand, "A thousand yen. Looks like we can make that trip to the arcade after all."

"Haha, thanks kid," another cheered, patting their victim on the head with fake affection, "We really owe you."

"Well, you got your money. Now can we please get out of here? Someone might see us," a third one grumbled.

"Dude, chill! We're just borrowing, right?" The first guy said, looking pointedly at the kid in his hands.

The kid gulped and nodded, replying feebly, "Yeah...he's right. You can repay it at your own leisure...ha..ha."

Satisfied, the bully smiled, more like smirked at him and loosened his hold. As soon as he did this, the kid immediately scampered away.

They just watched him rushing headlong into a street lamp in his hurry, laughing all the while. "Hey, dude," they called after him, "slow down. You're gonna get hurt, sissy."

* * *

The entire scene had played before the eyes of Fushimi Saruhiko. And yet he had done nothing to help the poor boy. He firmly believed that people should be independent, regardless of their age. The ways of the world was easy enough to understand; the weak ones are eliminated and the strong ones prevail. Life was, in short, survival of the fittest.  
And moreover, he had to pass those guys in order to get 'home' and he didn't want to get into any trouble.

Though he had seen first-hand what they did to that individual, Saruhiko merely shrugged it off and walked towards them confidently, while trying to remain as invisible as possible.

Lady Luck, it seems, was not on his side that day.

One of them tripped over absolutely nothing and fell face-first onto the pavement. His two friends laughed loudly. Angered and embarrassed, he looked around for a victim to take it out on. Unfortunately, Saruhiko was the first person that he saw.

"Oi, where do you think you are going, brat?"

* * *

The room was dark, illuminated only by the light from a laptop which was resting on a bed. Saruhiko sat in front of it, sporting a devious grin. _They shouldn't have messed with me._

The screen turned dark and then, into a green color displaying JUNGLE 's logo and the words 'Welcome To JUNGLE, Fushimi! Select one of the options below to start.

Ø Profile

Ø Missions for the day

Ø Chats

Ø News

Ø Games

Ø Reigning JUNGLE users

Ø Private Messages

Ø Community

Ø JUNGLE points

Ø Settings

Ø Customer Care'

Saruhiko clicked on Games. He scrolled down the invites and challenges and then clicked again.

Bright green letters spelling the words, 'Plunder Jungle' appeared on the computer screen and then blacked out. Soon it brightened up again and a village came into view.

Saruhiko had barely blinked before a parrot appeared, a dialogue cloud near him stating - 'SMARTASS tried to plunder your base. You successfully defended! You gain 10 Jungle points. Congratulations, Fushimi!'

Honestly, Saruhiko was getting tired of his cousin's frequent attempts. She just didn't want to accept that he was the better of the two of them. Jungle Points are no laughing matter. And the fact that she was wasting them like this angered him. But, then again, stupid people had always angered him. _Maybe she buys them from high scorers using money._

Well, no matter. Aya was not his main concern now. He had way more important matters to deal with.

Saruhiko, unknowingly, smirked on reading a single word on the screen; a smirk rivalling even that of his father's twisted one.

'indomitable-sama.'

He knew for a fact that those bullies were avid players of Plunder Jungle. And they were going to pay for every single punch they had ever landed on him.

When he clicked the base, a parrot came up - 'Are you ready to pillage and plunder indomitable-sama's village? If you succeed, you'll gain 5 JP. If you don't, you'll lose 15 JP.'

He clicked on the YES button and started his attack.

* * *

Saruhiko was feeling proud of himself. He had managed to destroy the bases of all three in just under five minutes. And to top it off, he had managed to negotiate with them to send him two thousand yen each in return for giving them their lost Jungle Points back.

JP may not be a laughing matter. But it was still funny how people valued them above money. After all, unlike money, they couldn't be used outside the JUNGLE world. How wrong he was! But he wouldn't know about this until later in his life.

Feeling thirsty, he got up to get himself a soda...only to be received by a bucket full of icy water at his door.

"Hahaha...That was classic! You should have seen your face! Bloody priceless! It. was. HILARIOUS." His father then continued to laugh a little more.

Saruhiko glared at him, radiating a murderous aura. But instead of acting out the comforting image in his head of his father being strangled, he went away to find his soda, shivering slightly.

Niki frowned. Usually his son would retort hotly, exclaiming about reporting him to the school authorities or the government - and he loved seeing that expression on his face. Call it sick or whatever you want ; that's just the way he is.  
He had wanted to tease, rather anger him a bit more but it looked like now was not the time. Instead he settled with light hearted, as compared to the other times, insults: "Too afraid to answer, Saru?"

"Tch!"

He chuckled lightly, amused at Saruhiko's behavior. It was frightening that someone should resemble him so much.  
"Oi, listen up, Saru! Your grandparents and Saki are coming over tomorrow, precisely at 11'o clock. Kisa will also be there. So make yourself scarce, 'kay?" He was aware of Saruhiko's great dislike for Kisa as well as her family - the kid was like him even in that aspect, how scary!  
"Take some money from the safe and try to return home by 7. They'll be gone by then."

Saruhiko barely showed any sign that he had heard him but the way his ears twitched up attentively betrayed the fact that he had carefully listened to every word his father had uttered.

* * *

When Saruhiko had gone up to his room, Kisa spoke from her office, her voice traversing through the partially door, "I can't imagine what it is about my family that the both of you dislike so."

Although Niki was kind of startled, he regained his composure so fast that none could have seen it. "Have you been here the whole time?" he mockingly asked her, "You know, you should give Saru and I some privacy for father-son quality time."

"Tipping buckets of cold water over your son is not what I would describe as father-son bonding. Anyways, we're getting off-topic here. What do you hate about my family?"

"Their idiocy," Saruhiko muttered from his room, loudly enough for his parents to hear.

Kisa was shocked and remained mum.

Niki toppled over with laughter. When he had finally recovered from his merriment, he said, wiping a tear from his eye, "The kid's right, ya' know. Your family is way too stupid. It's not even fun to insult them because they'll just think it's 'praise in disguise' or some other crap of that sort."

His wife looked at him, a disgusted look on her face.

"Oh, come on! Don't pretend like you actually do care about them."

Annoyed that Niki could see right through her act, Kisa turned away from him and said in a voice barely audible, "Don't flirt with Saki."

Her husband just smirked. "Got it, babe."

Upstairs Saruhiko wrinkled his nose in disgust. _Playing the happy family now, aren't we?_

* * *

 **I'm sorry for updating so late. But please bear with me. My tuitions compounded with school gives me barely enough time to even sleep.**

 **By the way, expect monthly updates from now on.**


	6. Chapter 6

"All of you are required to submit this group project as it is a necessary part of the syllabus, and not, I repeat, **not** for extra credit."

That got Saruhiko's attention. _Group project?_ He would surely end up alone. Just the year before the teacher had failed him in Practical Physics as he had done the second-year group project single-handedly. One might say that it was unfair, given that his model was the best of them all.  
She had said - _"You were supposed to work with a group."_

"-re to construct a working prototype of an electrical motor. Please arrange yourselves in groups of 3's, 4's or 5's."

Saruhiko didn't even bother getting up from his seat. He would end up by himself; he always had.

"Fushimi-kun, are you alone?"

The teacher just received a glare in answer to his question. "Well, never mind. But remember, it's a group project. Your partner does not have to be a student of this school. He must sign this form though." Raising his voice slightly, the teacher again addressed the class, "The project is due the first Wednesday of the coming month. Class is dismissed. You may go home."

* * *

"Oh! What's that you're working on? Looks interesting."

Saruhiko chose to just ignore his father.

Not in the slightest bothered by his son's lack of answer, Niki just sat down and continued to watch what his son was doing. Although slightly annoyed, Saruhiko continued attaching the brushes and tried to pretend that his father was not there at all.

"You're doing it wrong."

Now that irked Saruhiko to no end. "You don't even know what I am working on. How can you say that it's wrong?"

Smiling slightly, his father replied, "That's an armature, right? And guessing from the split rings, I'm pretty sure it's an electric motor*... I am right, aren't I?"

Although he received no answer, the scowl on his son's face said it all.

Saruhiko opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, then decided against it and continued on with what he was doing.

Less than five minutes had passed when: "I said you're doing it wrong. You see, if you attach the brushes like this, then they barely make contact with the rings, hence, destroying the whole model. However-" Instead of speaking, Niki took the model and, after a few minutes of fiddling with the screws, attached them himself. "See! Now they are stationary."

Not believing his father in the slightest, he switched the model on. Saruhiko would never forget Niki's smirk when the armature started rotating.  
Though he was really surprised, as he thought that his father had an economical mind not a scientific or even a mechanical one, he did not show it and instead quietly switched it off and started changing the previous battery for a 6V one. He had no idea how it happened but after sometime, Niki was helping him in his project, not that he was complaining.

They started working together on the model, all animosity forgotten.

* * *

Kisa was not someone who could be easily surprised. She believed she had seen all the horrors, damnations, punishments, dangers and the so-called 'evil' that plagued the world. She even secretly thought that no one, not even Lucifer himself, could bring any more misery upon her - her husband had already seen to that. She may or may not be wrong. But her beliefs resulted in her not being easily impressed, scared or moved.

So it was a pretty big deal that she was surprised, more like shocked, to see Niki and his son sitting down together, actually being civil with each other and working on something that looked vaguely like some school project.

Truth be told, she felt a little left out.

Her parents were too busy trying to improve their status and reputation one last time before they faced their retirement. _As if they even need to! They still four years left and, if they hadn't reached the top of their business empire by now, ... well..._

She strongly suspected her sister was on a world tour on the pretext of searching for new spices for her 'very innovative recipe. ' _Did Saki ever attend any cooking classes? Well, it's none of my concern. It's good enough she outgrew her crush on Niki... or did she?_

In conclusion, you could say that she was the one always left behind.

All in all, she could say that Fushimi Niki and Fushimi Saruhiko were the only ones she had left. And even with them, she was the third wheel.

Though she couldn't really blame Saruhiko for not wanting to be near her. Kisa guessed that she was really enraged with her husband's flirty behaviour and took it out by ignoring her son. _I guess I should not have done that..._

To stop herself from dwelling in past regrets any longer, Kisa quickly went into her study and started reviewing the paperwork.

Thus, one can say that Kisa was a lonely soul; a very lonely one at that. But no one could really sympathise with her as she behaved too coldly to others to be sympathised with.

* * *

"Looks cool, doesn't it?"

Saruhiko had to admit, it did look pretty cool. Though the particular word sounded foreign to his tongue, it described the model perfectly.

Instead of going for a perfectly simple and basic model, they had gone for a helicopter, his home-made electric motor fixed inside. The blades moved smoothly and the circuit wires were fixed neatly. It almost looked like those ready-made ones you would find in toy stores.

"Got to hand it to you, kid. You are better than I thought. I've got to say, I never thought I would be this glad to have assumed something wrong," Niki said, fondly ruffling his hair.

Taken aback by the sudden change in his generally 'teasing' father, he settled for a 'Tsk!' and a 'Don't destroy it this time.'

Niki gave out an amused chuckle and said, "Fine, I won't."

* * *

"Okay, class! I hope you all have brought your group projects with you," the teacher said, rubbing his palms together, "As you have already been told, you need at least a D on this one in order to pass this school year."

He was received with several groans and a 'Don't be so hard, teach.' And someone shouted, "Please don't fail us."

The teacher just replied, "We shall see about that."

More groans and a 'You are mean, teach.'

"Okay, first one up - Akihiko, Haruhi and Takeo!"

Saruhiko looked wearily around the classroom, waiting to be called, as the teacher graded most of his classmates C; the highest grade up until now being B+ and lowest being D.

"Fushimi and ... I thought I said this was a group project, Fushimi-kun."

His student didn't even bother to respond and just dropped the model on his desk.

The teacher sighed and said, "I can't grade this, Fushimi. It's not supposed to be done alone."

Saruhiko just shrugged and gave no reply.

* * *

"Well, well, Saru! I guess you got an S," Niki questioned as soon as he stepped inside the mansion. "Maybe at least an A++," he added after some thought.

His son simply gave him a slip of paper and went to his room, and waited for the expected...

"WHAT THE HELL?" Saruhiko smiled a little and waited again for the next moment.

"Oi, Saru! What in fuck's name is this?" Niki practically screamed as he ran up the staircase, two steps at a time.

He almost smirked and took his sweet time answering his father. Niki looked so devastated and desperate for answers, explanations - basically, anything that could tell him why he got a nice freaking F.  
"You see, it _was_ a group project. So it was completely necessary that I had at least one partner. And the Practical Physics teacher seemed more concerned that I broke the only rule than the fact that my model was the best one there." He added after a slight pause, "Because of your help, obviously."

"But I was your partner," he almost whined.

"Tsk! Handle it yourself! After all, you are a parent. You are supposed to deal with these matters single-handedly," a very annoyed yet amused Saruhiko replied.

X X X

Saruhiko could not have foreseen what would happen next. He didn't mean for his father to take his words seriously; he never had.

But it seems Niki had taken his advice to heart and had complained to the school that they 'should not be discouraging my son just because he is independent' and that they 'should be grateful that they have a genius student there, though I'm highly considering transferring him to another better one.'

After that, the school just cracked and furiously apologised for their mistake and changed his grade to S, and even said that they would 'raise their teaching standards to match his intellect.'

All in all, Saruhiko had found the whole affair very interesting. And, though he had never cared for grades, he had to say he felt a little grateful. Maybe he could at least thank him...

"Don't take it the wrong way, Saru! I only did this because I have never gotten a failing grade before," Niki just simply said when he saw what his son was about to do.

The 'Thank you' in his mouth turned into a cold 'I know.'

* * *

 *** Please keep up with me on this. By the way, there are many basic models of electric motors but I wanted to use this one as I'm more familiar with it. Also, there is no need to panic if you have yet to learn about this stuff. It doesn't play an important role.**

 **Monthly updates, my foot! Looks like I took a long break with this. I have to say I don't have much free time with my matriculation examinations only about 6 months away. My parents, teachers and even my so-called friends are pressuring me (even my little sis T-T). So like yeah, I may take a lot of time to finish this one.**


End file.
